I Won't Dance
by CayshaGriffin
Summary: TVverse. Harry is forced to attend the Winter Court's Masked Ball and finds that the night might not be a complete waste after all.No kids, it's not ThomasHarry story. BobHarry. Warning, slash story.
1. I Won't Dance

Disclaimer: Jim Butcher and Scifi own everything. Paul Blackthorne and Terrence Mann own their versions. I own this little plotline. That's about it.

Author's Note: This is a slash pairing story. If you don't like it then please don't read and feel the need to flame. TVverse so if I screwed up the name of the court and everything I apologize, I'm not writing the bookverse.

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I Won't Dance 1

The dance floor thrived with creatures that radiated youth and darkness, every movement speaking enchantment and sensuality. The colors swirling in a sea of white, silver and varying degrees of blues that mirrored the winter season. In Harry's opinion it was all a hell bent, boring mess.

Harry sat on the sidelines, watching the aristocratic high born of the winter court dance around the villa ballroom like ethereal things were meant to do. Though he wished there was something else he could be doing right now.

He was part of this event by fluke. The host happened to be his most recent client, Kellar Hapkins, an elven courtier who recently had a precious item stolen by some greedy human. Harry did his job, finding the little bastard and returning the item as promised.

The winter court's form of payment for such a service? Inviting Harry to their Winter Solstice Masked Ball...yeah.

Instead of getting cash in return for a job well done, Harry was forced into a rented tux and a suffocating jester's mask that didn't hide his annoyed frown. It just wasn't making Harry feel all that repaid.

But Harry wasn't immune to the beauty of the ball, he was human after all. It wasn't often you saw so many otherworldly beings in one place, the amount of magic in the air made his hair stand on end. But he wasn't stupid enough to join them.

Under no circumstances was he going to join in the actual dancing tonight, drinking or eating. All three had a high risk factor of getting him trapped in the land of the fay. Beautiful, enchanted and immortal, the fay had an infamous mischievous streak that more often then not turned cruel to stave off their immortal boredom. One of their favorite past times was trapping mortals by enchantment. Leaving little for Harry to do without having to fear for his own safety.

So Harry was keeping himself as scarce as possible, counting how many hours still had to pass before he could head home and complain to Bob about never wanting working for the winter court again.

" Cheer up, Mr. Dresden." A silky voice purred near Harry's ear. The wizard turned to find the party's host standing beside him in a resplendent white tailcoat with turquoise dyed bird feathers trailing down the back, a blue feathered mask covering his fay features. The long black ponytail and fake grin gave the man away as Harry's recent employer. " We went to a lot of trouble to repay you for your services. The least you can do is enjoy it."

Harry snorted, not putting on any false airs for the fay's benefit. He was tired and cranky. " Sorry Kellar, I'm not the kind of guy that dances. Afraid you went to all the trouble for nothing."

Harry saw a perfect black eyebrow rise above the blue feathers. " Oh? How unfortunate." Kellar said, Harry not liking the amused lilt to the fay's voice. "Let's see if we can fix that, shall we?"

Kellar made a come hither motion with his hand. Harry watched with wearily as the gesture appeared to be a silent command to a dancing couple who bowed and parted ways almost immediately. The woman in a set of wings that were no doubt a great parody to her true ones was quickly swept away by another dancer while the man obediently came towards Kellar and his wizard guest.

Harry had to admit that in most cases, attractive men created the same reaction in him that an attractive woman did. He also found out early on that it was a lot easier to get the attractive woman into bed then the man, so he rarely pursued the same sex anymore. He wasn't even sure Bob knew about his indifference to gender when it came to attraction.

Harry let his eyes rake over this man as he came closer, trying to keep his gaze neutral. He had a fluid way of walking like every other courtier that had graced the dance floor, with a decent height, though not enough to tower over Harry. The wizard could tell that even from this distance. Still, something offset the figure from the others.

This man was dressed in decidedly darker colors then the rest of the courts theme of light blues and whites. His tailcoat was a tailored sheath of indigo blue, like dark moonlight on snow. Thick silver embroidery ran along the lapels and around the cuffs in some undistinguished form of writing. Harry didn't take his time to evaluate the rest of the man's outfit, because the mask he was wearing begged for attention. It was more elaborate then either Harry or Kellar's and not as colorful. It depicted the the green man, the face made entirely of silver metal leaves that covered all the mans face except for his eyes and chin. It looked heavy and uncomfortable to Harry, especially since the silver work went all the way to the back of the head and only stopped at the nape of the wearers neck. But he wore the mask like it were an honored headdress to the silver rendered deity.

" Mr. Dresden, may I introduce you to a humble admirer of your work." Kellar said by way of breaking the silence that had fallen.

Harry blinked and almost took an involuntary step back when he realized the man he'd been evaluating was now right in front of him. The sides of the man's lower lip that were not hidden by the mask turned up and disappeared into it, forming an unseen smile. Harry's eyes flicked up to the ones surrounded by sharp, piercing silver and found eyes that matched the ethereal color and sharpness. So this creature was fay too.

Harry did his best to smile casually, though his heart was hammering in his chest at the scare. " Secret admirer? I thought most everyone hated me while the rest just tolerated me." He joked.

The silver masked fay's eyes crinkled at the sides in a way that shot a teasing warmth through Harry. Causing something to tug at the edge of his subconscious.

" Our friend here has been asking about you, Mr. Dresden. Would you care to retract your insistence to dance with no one tonight?" Kellar said, interrupting Harry's thoughts.

Harry didn't do tact very well. Which was why sarcasm and thinly veiled questions always worked in his favor. " Depends, is my dance partner going to remain nameless?" Real smooth, Harry.

The silver fay gave a small nod, his shoulder slightly following the movement like an abridged bow.

Harry glanced from the ridiculously dressed Kellar to the silver eyed stranger who waited as silently as he'd arrived. And on some degree Harry felt the strange fay wanted his name left a secret for a good long while. The wizard's brow furrowed. Bob had given him strict instructions to dance with no one, repeat, no one! Now matter how beautiful, charming or sexually promising. Bob's words, not Harry's. It was easier to fight enchantment if you didn't get too close to the temptation.

But Harry had a faint inkling that not even the mighty Hrothbert of Bainbridge could say no to that silver gaze. Besides, Bob had pretty much meant the female population with the dancing thing, right? What the hell was a male fay going to offer him that was worth getting trapped in the eternal world?

After a few minutes of silent debate on Harry's part, that both fay watched with amused patience, he finally came out of his daze and fixed the strange fay with a determined stare that left no room for arguments. " One dance."

The fay grinned and dipped into a small bow. Giving Harry no more clue to his features beneath the mask except for the pale eyelashes that swept down as his eyes closed for a moment.

" Ah, wonderful. Enjoy the ball then!" Kellar said enthusiastically. Thankfully for him, Harry was too focused on the masked fay across from him to shoot his client a snide remark in return.

Harry took the gloved hand that was offered and found himself pulled onto the dance floor. The crowd was obliging to their entrance and parted for them, making Harry nervous as they reached the floor's center. He didn't miss the glances tossed their way by the other dancers, stares that said they knew more then Harry. For all Harry knew, his dance partner could be some highly ranked courtier that drew attention no matter who he danced with. There was no need for his constant paranoia, yet.

A strangely strong arm encircled Harry's waist, a gloved hand coming to rest at his lower back. His gaze snapped back to silver orbs dancing with amusement and something unmistakably darker. Harry wasn't sure how eyes that bright could display such darkness. He was so caught up in trying to read those eyes that he didn't feel as his hands were carefully positioned. One on his partners shoulder, the other grasped in a gloved hand.

A shiver ran down Harry's back though as their hands were quickly repositioned so that they threaded together, fitting in a warm, intimate lock of fingers. Then the dance began.


	2. Don't Ask Me

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the storyline.

Author's Note: This was supposed to only be a two part story. But...it expanded and got longer. So here is the next chapter int his story.

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I Won't Dance 2 

Harry's feet fought to keep up with the song's rhythm as they wove through the dancers. There were other reasons for Harry not wanting to dance tonight, his lack of skill being one.

Harry had tried to rectify it when he was younger by asking Bob for his help. He'd had ulterior motives then as well but it hadn't gone so very well.

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A fifteen year old Harry rushed into the Morningway library where most of his daily magic lessons took place. His teacher was leaning over an open book, squinting down at the pages to study some ancient symbol.

Bob did not unbend from the book when Harry came in, merely lifting his eyes to take in the youth as he stopped to catch his breath.

"Is there something I can help you with, Harry?" he asked calmly, raising a questioning eyebrow at the bou -- a boy that already reached the ghost's shoulder and would no doubt surpass his height in a few years time.

Harry nodded vigorously as he tried to gulp down a few much needed breaths. "Ca...can..y..."

Bob let out an exasperated sigh and straightened, though Harry could easily see the amused affection in the ghost's pale eyes.

"Harry. Breathe, then speak. I don't need your uncle asking why my student is unconscious before I know the reason myself," he snarked.

Harry fought a grin at the wizard's words and did as he was told, taking the time to regain normal breathing functions in a nearby chair. Bob came to stand beside Harry, the boy very aware of his presence, then nodded when he was satisfied that Harry would not pass out.

"Now, what was so urgent that you felt the need to run in here like a crazed wind devil?" Bob asked curiously.

Harry felt a warm burn in his cheeks. "Can you teach me to dance?" the teenager mumbled.

Bob blinked in suprise at the youth's request, obviously not expecting that to be the reason for Harry's sprint. "To dance?" he asked, as if to clarify what he'd just been asked.

Harry nodded. "I kind of met this girl named...Anna...and, she kind of asked me to a dance. But I don't know how to dance and I doubt Uncle Justin does...so..."

Bob gave the boy an affectionate grin. Harry was lying but he'd play along for now.

"And you thought I would know how?" He asked.

Harry nodded again with a blush and Bob's smile saddened a little. The ghost's arms folded in front of his chest and his head tilted down so he locked gazes with his student.

"I was schooled in dance when I was your age, Harry. And I did quite a bit before my current state of servitude." Harry winced. " But I'm afraid it would be impossible for me to show you properly."

"Why not?" Harry asked quickly.

"You need an physical teacher for dancing, not an incorporeal ghost."

Harry dropped his eyes to the library floor which was all of a sudden incredibly interesting. "Yes, I do," he grumbled, and Bob just barely made it out.

Harry felt the cold tingle of Bob's hand hovering over his shoulder and looked up at his teacher and friend, who could only give an apologetic smile while trying to hide his own disappointment. Harry didn't stay very long in the room after that.

Bob never asked when Harry didn't go to the dance or later on when a girl named Anna never showed up at Morningway Manor, as if she never existed.

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Harry swore as his feet stumbled a bit during a spin, his partner's hand pressing into his lower back to keep them both steady. He looked up but didn't meet the silver eyes as he mumbled an apology. Harry felt his hand squeezed gently, easing the tension in his shoulders.

Harry felt stupid for being caught up in the memory that had surfaced so suddenly. It also stung him with guilt. Bob should of been here tonight; it wouldn't have been too much trouble to bring his skull along. Even if Harry still couldn't dance with his mentor, he knew Bob would of been happy to come.

He stumbled again, getting frustrated now that he was somehow sabotaging the only good part of this night so far. Why did he have to muck it up with something he couldn't change?

Harry was going to apologize and end the dance but it was as if his partner sensed the oncoming escape attempt and pulled Harry flush against his lithe fay form. Harry nearly choked on a gasp as cold silver pressed against his cheek and a warm chest shifted with his.

The hand still on his lower back caught Harry's attention when he felt the long fingers tap against his jacket. He shuddered when the fay exhaled into his hair and a breathy, barely-there voice whispered. "1...2...3. 1...2...3," in time with the tapping of fingers on his spine.

Harry closed his eyes, letting the rhythm being drummed into his body take over and finally place him in time with his partner. Letting himself be led by a stranger and a memory.

The winter courtiers smoothly left the dance floor one by one. Gentlemen twirled their partners off to the sidelines where they could watch the two with steely bright eyes, ladies peering hungrily over silk and feather fans. Harry was completely oblivious to the fact that he was on display and his partner kept up the whispered guidance so he wouldn't notice, then calmly steered the wizard away from the amused smirks of immortality's children.

Harry didn't realize that they'd left the dance floor until a light breeze trailed across the back of his neck like a soft caress, making him shiver. The voice that whispered in his ear did nothing to stop the little spasms.

"Congratulations, Dresden. You just finished your first dance."

Harry's eyes snapped open in time to see his dance partner turn his back and walk over to the railing surrounding the balcony where their dance had ended.

The balcony was white marble and large enough to house the entire Winter Court and the Chicago precinct. It overlooked the villa's expansive hedge gardens and natural forest line that kept the entire place shrouded from curious eyes. Moonlight lit the greenery and whitewashed the balcony so that it glowed. But Harry only gave the grounds the barest of glances before they were trained on an indigo-sheathed back. The silver eyed fay had taken a little of the warmth with him, leaving Harry feeling chilled in the winter moonlight.

Harry watched transfixed as the fay slowly began to shed layers, something holding his gaze on the creature like a trance. And maybe he was caught, maybe he'd been enchanted without realizing it, mastered by a whisper that he had never heard outside of his rarely pleasant dreams.

Harry swallowed as the barely audible rustle of cloth followed the motion of gloves being peeled away. They were laid carefully on the railing by long, pale fingers that Harry followed with his eyes. Those same fingers disappeared to the fay's front as the tailcoat slid off narrow shoulders and down a shirt covered back that narrowed downward to finish the figure in a trim waist. Once the coat was off, this article was also folded and laid over the gloves.

But the pale fingers stopped on the coats lapels and reverently traced the looping silver lines that marked the dark silk. Harry followed the captivating movements until some part of his mind woke up. Those lines weren't just for decoration; they were symbols, ones created to bind by spelling the captive's name in a long dead language.

Harry couldn't stop the confused noise that escaped him, and the pale fingers stopped their silent path along the silver embroidery. Harry stared at the fay's, no, the man's back, not able to stare any longer at that horrendous mask. The man sighed and the familiar dramatic sag of his shoulders made it very clear that the masquerade was over.

The slink of metal against flesh made Harry's heart stop for a moment as the mask was lifted away. Hrothbert of Bainbridge turned to smile at him, mask cradled under his arm. His eyes, no longer under their silver glamour, were revealed as sea glass green.

"Hello, Harry," he whispered, as if anything louder would break something precious.

It broke Harry's control and he surged forward, his mouth descending on Bob's. After his resistance being broken down over the process of one dance there was little control left.

There was a crash as Bob dropped the mask to grab hold of Harry in turn, hands fisting in the younger wizards hair, roughly pushing off the jester's mask. Harry had him backed up against the railing, bending back the necromancer's lithe form a little with his weight. Neither complained.

Rational questions tumbled around in Harry's head. How? Why? But they all took a back seat to the feel of Bob's mouth as it opened, teased, nipped and finally invaded Harry's with a quick tongue intent on tasting and owning the younger. Harry's hands roamed everywhere, trying to find every detail of Bob's upper anatomy in the span of a few minutes.

Needing air, Harry broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around Bob's waist. He pulled their bodies together as close as possible, knowing from dancing with the man that their bodies fit well. Bob hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around Harry's shoulders.

They stayed that way for a while, content with the simple contact. Then Harry found his voice.

" How?"

To be continued...


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